The official blog of the Durham Bulls, Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.

BIIIIGGGGG weekend ahead. First, my big appearance of this weekend is Fall Fan Fest, which is always a lot of fun. Since I don’t get to see our fans all that often anymore, it’s always nice to see a bunch of people come out and enjoy one last afternoon at the ballpark for the year.

Second, Halloween is on Monday, and I always enjoy dressing up. In the past I’ve been Wool E. Potter, Wool E. McFly, MC Wool E. and Wool E. Urkel, among many others. Not sure what I’ll do this year, but I always do my best thinking with my back legs against the wall. Also, Halloween means CANDY. So here, I’m going to rank my Top 10 favorite Halloween candies in order.

10. Mike and Ike

9. M&M’s

8. Sour Patch Kids

7. Skittles

6. Snickers

5. Kit Kat

4. Junior Mints

3. Starburst

2. Twix

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

A few quick thoughts. I obviously love chocolate and fruity flavors. Reese’s was always going to be No. 1, but really 2-5 can be arranged in a couple of different ways. For the most part these are your basic choices, nothing too crazy. Stick with what’s tried and true.

Also, a special note on ‘fun size’ candy. Stop calling it that. Nothing is ‘fun’ about a tiny little Twix bar that’s gone after one bite. Stop playing with my feelings and under-delivering, candy marketers.

Also also, candy corn is not good, and didn’t even sniff this list.

Now, on to my weekly NFL picks. Went 8-6-1 last week (thanks Seahawks and Cardinals), upping me to 35-39-1 overall. Need to get back over the .500 mark for the season. This is brutal.

Since I’ve been filling people in on what I’ve been up to in the offseason, a few people have asked what my schedule is like on a game day. After all, the fans really only see me for three or so hours on days we have games. So, I decided to break down what a typical day is like for me during a home game.

6 a.m.: Wake up early, shower, and… Psh, hehehehe, no I can’t say that with a straight face. No chance I’m up at 6 a.m. For real, now.

11 a.m.: Wake up after a long slumber. Crank out some push-ups, check Twitter and eat breakfast. Usually I’ll just go in to my backyard and graze for breakfast. Luckily my backyard is 10 acres big.

12 p.m.: Watch the afternoon edition of SportsCenter. Need to stay up-to-date on the world of sports in case I can incorporate something in to one of my acts. Also, polish my ‘Best Mascot in Minor League Baseball’ plaque.

1 p.m.: Head to the ballpark. Early afternoon is a good time to drive. Since I take my go kart to and from the DBAP, it’s best I avoid rush hour.

1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.: Take a trip to Nap City. Need more slumber.

4 p.m.: Make sure there is enough gas in my go kart and make sure I have enough t-shirts for the t-shirt launch. If it’s windy out I’ll practice shooting a few t-shirts to make sure I don’t shoot any on the roof. Still, there’s no simulation for the in-game experience.

4:30 p.m.: Dance like nobody’s watching because it makes me feel special. Plus I need to rehearse any dance moves I might use that night. Case in point.

My week got off to a tough start when I had my Galaxy Note7 recalled by Samsung, so I was without a phone for a little. Then I wised up and just got an iPhone. Also, shoutout to Samsung for announcing the recall in the middle of Sunday’s presidential debate. Perfect time to announce your top product starts fires. Bury it, and bury it hard.

On a separate note, good luck to my buddy Stormy and the Carolina Hurricanes as they kick off their 2016-17 season today. Expectations are definitely higher than in years past for the Canes, but they’ll back it up. A lot of good, young talent on the squad. Plus, Stormy’s the best ice hog there is, so they’re in good hands on the mascot front.

I got a busy weekend coming up, with a bunch of appearances. On Saturday I’ll be at a 5K and a walk, and Sunday I’ll be at the Bull City Race Fest. Unfortunately, I’m not making my way to the State Fair until the end of next week. Please don’t eat all the good stuff. You know I like my treats.

For my NFL picks, I went 8-6 last week, upping my record to 22-23 overall. Honestly, the Panthers have really hurt me this year. I’ll stick with them though, they’ll turn it around soon.

A lot to talk about this week in the world of sports. We had the MLB regular season come to an end (and subsequently the Wild Card games), the Ryder Cup, some crazy college football games and of course the NFL. Life is good right now if you’re a sports fan. Life is not so good if you’ve been following the campaign or crazy, creepy clowns.

First, the bad stuff. How are people still talking about the first debate? Trump sniffled, Clinton shimmied. Let’s move on. Of course, moving on means we’re going to talk about clowns. What are earth is the deal with this? I’m (obviously) all for entertainers of all shapes and sizes – mascots, musicians, comedians, and – when used appropriately – clowns. However, clowns patrolling the woods or wandering around towns is terrifying. Seriously, absolutely, unequivocally terrifying. Stay safe from those heathens.

On to the world of sports. The final day of the MLB regular season wasn’t all that exciting. But the AL and NL Wild Card Games? Fire. Now the Blue Jays and Rangers get a rematch (hello Rougned Odor and Jose Bautista!), while Madison Bumgarner continued to show he is not human by shutting down the Mets. (Also, Conor Gillaspie is the big brother of our very own Casey Gillaspie, which is neat.)

In the Ryder Cup the U.S. showed the Europeans who’s boss (USA! USA!), and college football had some CRAZY games. Luckily I finished my appearances early on Saturday to get back to the DBAP and veg out to watch them. (Shoutout to UNC for their ‘walk-off’ win over the ‘Noles.)

And that brings us to our weekly NFL picks. Last week I guaranteed at least a .500 mark, and I finished 8-7. Boo ya. Now I’m 14-17 on the year, which frankly isn’t very good, but I’ll turn it around.

Cardinals @ 49ers: Cardinals

Patriots @ Browns: Patriots

Eagles @ Lions: Eagles

Bears @ Colts: Colts

Titans @ Dolphins: Dolphins

Redskins @ Ravens: Redskins

Texans @ Vikings: Vikings

Jets @ Steelers: Steelers

Falcons @ Broncos: Broncos

Bengals @ Cowboys: Bengals

Bills @ Rams: Rams

Chargers @ Raiders: Raiders

Giants @ Packers: Packers

Bucs @ Panthers: Panthers

Finally, with Hurricane Matthew coming up the east coast this weekend, everybody please stay safe. Catch you next week.

Let’s address the elephant (and donkey) in the room: yes, I watched the debate. However, I will not be publicly endorsing a candidate. Until someone emerges from the Bull Moose Party, I will keep my political thoughts to myself. I did find it interesting though, that Trump wore a blue tie and Clinton wore a red dress. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Next, I renewed my cable plan this past week, and I decided to pay a little more for HBO, which means I now have access to HBO GO, too. Let me tell you, that thing is CRAZY. Now I can finally watch Hard Knocks. Heard it’s great.

Had some more appearances this past week, including a mascot game at the NC State women’s soccer game on Sunday evening. Good news? I didn’t embarrass myself too badly. Bad news? I tweaked my hamstring. Won’t put me out of commission entirely, but I won’t be participating in any mascot soccer games any time soon. Need to remember to stretch.

Finally, on to my weekly NFL picks. Last week was not so great, as I went 6-10. I’m guaranteeing at least a .500 performance this week though.

The offseason is in full swing, as the Minor League year came to an end Tuesday night when Scranton/Wilkes-Barre beat El Paso in the Triple-A National Championship Game. We here at the DBAP have been quiet for the last two weeks or so, after the fellas’ season ended back on Labor Day. While some people think I just disappear in the offseason, I’m actually a very busy bull – I do appearances, I sleep, I eat and I wreak havoc on the front office. A lot of times I’ll go cruising in my go kart, but I wasn’t allowed to this week (thanks gas crisis). I want to keep track of everything I do, so I think I’ll write in you once a week (plus it’s a nice way to express my feelings freely).

The last couple of weeks have been quiet. I took some ‘me’ time, grazing in a local park since the grounds crew won’t let me use the outfield. I don’t understand. We don’t have any more games this year, so why can’t they just let the grass grow and I can eat it? It seems stupid to me. Oh well.

I’ve also done quite a few appearances already, as I had seven(!!) this past weekend alone. People in the front office get annoyed when I’m asleep at my desk, but they just don’t understand being a celebrity.

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